ALPHARETTA, Ga., March 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Solvay Advanced Polymers, L.L.C. announced today that it has lowered the minimums and shortened the lead times for custom-colored RADEL(R) R polyphenylsulfone used in orthopedic applications. This move includes both opaque and transparent grades and is in direct response to the growing desire among orthopedic OEMs to use color to differentiate their brand and products in the marketplace.

The company is launching this initiative at the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS) Annual Meeting being held March 22-26, 2006 in Chicago.

"Color is a great way to create a fresh, exciting look that sets you apart from the competition," said Shawn Shorrock, global medical market manager for Solvay Advanced Polymers. "With reduced minimums for orthopedics, we can help even more customers create a distinctive color scheme for their products, whether they want to match their corporate logo colors or create something entirely new-and we can do it faster than ever before," she added.

According to Shorrock, the company carries a variety of stock colors of RADEL(R) R sterilizeable plastics that are routinely used to differentiate the sizes of orthopedic provisional trials during implant surgery. These colors include blue, black, bone white, red, rust, violet, green, yellow, grey and brown.

Last year, Solvay Advanced Polymers introduced RADEL(R) R-5800 TR, a new line of transparent colors specifically targeted for lids and latches used for sterilization instrument cases and containers. These bright transparent colors give orthopedic OEMs even more ways to customize their look with color.

About RADEL(R) R polyphenylsulfone

RADEL(R) R polyphenylsulfone is a high-performance plastic known for its ability to withstand more than a thousand cycles of disinfection and steam sterilization without any significant loss in properties. Typical orthopedic applications include sterilization cases and trays, surgical instrument handles, and provisional trials used during implant surgery. For more information on this and other plastics used in healthcare applications, visit www.solvaymedical.com.

About Solvay Advanced Polymers

Solvay Advanced Polymers produces more plastics with higher performance than any other company in the world. This gives design engineers worldwide more ways to solve top design challenges in automotive, medical, electronics, aerospace and other demanding industries. Learn more at www.solvayadvancedpolymers.com.

Solvay Advanced Polymers is member of the Solvay Group, an international chemical and pharmaceutical group headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. Including the recently acquired company Fournier Pharma, the Solvay Group, whose companies employ about 30,000 people in 50 countries, recorded sales for 2005 of EUR 8.6 billion generated by its three sectors: Chemicals, Plastics and Pharmaceuticals. Solvay is listed on the Euronext 100 index of top European companies. Details are available at www.solvay.com.